Sex ratio of human T-lymphotropic virus type I infection and blood transfusion.
The prevalence of human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) infection is higher for females than for males. Blood transfusion is a potential confounding factor which might contribute to this high female:male ratio. Two studies were performed in Martinique (French West Indies) to clarify this issue: a case-control survey comparing the experience of previous blood transfusion among 62 HTLV-I-seropositive and 88 HTLV-I-seronegative blood donors, and a retrospective study of the sex of recipients of blood. Blood transfusion was strongly associated with HTLV-I infection (odds ratio = 6.4, p less than 0.001). Females were more often given blood transfusions (57.9 percent, p less than 0.001) and received a higher percentage of blood units (53.5 percent, p less than 0.05) than could be expected from their proportion in the general population (51.6 percent). Thus, the high female:male sex ratio of HTLV-I-infected subjects might be due partially to a sex difference for blood transfusion.
Chavance
M
M
INSERM U169, Villejuif, France.
Frery
N
N
Valette
I
I
Schaffar-Deshayes
L
L
Monplaisir
N
N
D000328:Adult; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D015490:HTLV-I Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008395:Martinique / Q000208:ethnology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012737:Sex Factors; D065227:Transfusion Reaction